Vitamin C

Vitamin C must be absorbed well

Good absorption of vitamin C is important. Do not use products that release vitamin C slowly. The body absorbs vitamin C in the stomach and in the first part of the small intestine.

Avoid low quality vitamin C tablets. These tablets break down slowly, so the body absorbs only a small amount of vitamin C.

Choose vitamin C in liquid form (liposomal), in powder form, in capsules, or in high quality tablets.

Vitamin C Infographic

Click the image to view the full infographic about vitamin C.

What does Vitamin C do?

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin that supports the immune system. It helps keep bones, teeth, skin, and blood vessels healthy. It also supports the nervous system and plays a role in energy production. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant and works with vitamin E to protect the body from free radicals. Free radicals influence aging processes. Vitamin C also improves iron absorption.

Can our body produce vitamin C?

Humans cannot synthesize vitamin C. We depend fully on food for our vitamin C intake. Vitamin C is water soluble and spreads through the entire body, with the highest concentration in the adrenal glands and the pituitary gland. The body stores the largest total amount of vitamin C in the liver and skeletal muscles because these organs take up a large part of our body mass.

Vitamin C is essential for the production of collagen and other connective tissue molecules. Because of this, vitamin C helps keep blood vessels strong and flexible. All tissues that give the body structure and strength depend on vitamin C during growth and repair. These include the joints, tendons, skin, muscles (including the heart muscle), bones and connective tissue.

What is vitamin C?

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is probably the best-known vitamin. As early as the 17th century people noticed that weak sailors recovered quickly after eating citrus fruits. Food on long sea voyages was limited and not fresh. Yet vitamin C itself was only identified in the 1930s.

In 1937, the British scientist Walter Norman Haworth received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the structure of vitamin C.

In the 1960s, the two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling helped introduce orthomolecular nutrition and gave vitamin C an important place within that field.

Good sources

Good sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, kiwis, strawberries, berries, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, broccoli and other types of cabbage.

Poor sources

Many fruits are not the strong vitamin C sources people assume them to be. Apples and bananas are poor sources. They contain only a few milligrams, while one kiwi contains more than 100 mg. This does not mean apples and bananas are unhealthy. They provide many other useful nutrients.

No self-synthesis

Most animals can produce vitamin C in their own body, but humans, great apes and a few other species cannot. This ability was lost somewhere in evolution, likely during a period when vitamin-C-rich food was easy to find.

From a modern point of view, it is unfortunate that we lost this ability. Getting enough vitamin C from food is not always easy, and vitamin C is essential for many processes in the body. Vitamin C is best known for its antioxidant role and for supporting the production of collagen and other connective tissue molecules that give the body structure and strength.

Forms of vitamin C

In its basic form, vitamin C consists of ascorbic acid. The name already shows it: ascorbic acid is an acid with a pH of 2.3, and many people do not tolerate this well, especially at higher intakes.

Because of this, several non-acidic forms of vitamin C exist. These include mineral ascorbates, where vitamin C is bound to magnesium or calcium, and Ester-C, a patented form of calcium ascorbate that also contains compounds the body makes from vitamin C.

Natural forms

There is also a natural full-spectrum form that contains vitamin C along with hundreds of plant compounds from tropical plants such as camu-camu, amla and acerola. Synthetic and natural vitamin C are chemically identical. The advantage of plant-based vitamin C is the presence of extra compounds. The most important are bioflavonoids, which are also found in fruits and vegetables.

Liposomal vitamin C

A relatively new form of vitamin C uses phosphatidyl lipids from lecithin to surround the ascorbic acid. This may improve uptake into cells. Early developers claim its effect is similar to intravenous vitamin C. CureSupport developed a liposomal vitamin C with higher bioavailability. It enters the bloodstream quickly, reaches the cells directly and raises blood vitamin C levels threefold in studies.

Ascorbyl palmitate

Ascorbyl palmitate consists of an ascorbic acid molecule and a palmitic acid molecule. It dissolves in both water and fat and is used as an antioxidant in canned foods and in cosmetics such as creams. This form may cross the blood-brain barrier more easily.

PureWay-C®

PureWay-C® is a patented vitamin C form that contains lipid metabolites and bioflavonoids. Whole-food products that use this ingredient offer high bioavailability and fast absorption.

Less acidic vitamin C forms

Ascorbic acid is the cheapest and most common form of vitamin C, but many people do not tolerate its acidity well. Non-acidic options include mineral ascorbates, where vitamin C is bound to minerals such as calcium or magnesium, and Ester-C.

Calcium ascorbate

Calcium ascorbate is suitable for people who do not tolerate ascorbic acid. It has a neutral pH and rarely causes digestive discomfort. For higher intakes, a buffered form is often preferred.

Magnesium ascorbate

Magnesium ascorbate provides both vitamin C and magnesium. It has a neutral pH and is suitable for people who do not tolerate acidic vitamin C.

Sodium ascorbate

Sodium ascorbate is another buffered form. Hospitals often administer it intravenously.

Ester-C

Ester-C is considered the third generation of vitamin C. It combines several advantages of ascorbic acid and calcium ascorbate.

After vitamin C enters the body, it is converted, and one of the main metabolites is threonate. Ester-C is calcium ascorbate that is already partly oxidized, which means threonate is already present.

Threonate and other metabolites support the uptake and use of vitamin C. Threonate can also release stored vitamin C in the body so it becomes available for metabolic processes. Ester-C consists of a complex of calcium ascorbate with naturally occurring vitamin C metabolites.

Other views also:

• Multivitamin
• Antioxidants
• Collagen
• Heart and Blood Vessels
• Immune-system
• Energy and Fatigue
• Vitamins

Updated on: 3 December 2025